Originally Posted by
myrridin
Theft of property can and should be a capitol crime.
Most of us have heard the phrase "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". What many are unaware of is that Jefferson plagiarized the concept from John Locke (whose ideas served as the philosophical underpinnings of our society) who coined the original phrase "Life, liberty, and property".
When dealing with the anti-social (of which all criminals are but one example) there are two possibilities capitulation or violence. That violence can be vigilante or governmental--never the less it is violence.
That is so silly it barely warrants a reply. If you truly believe the death penalty is the appropriate response to theft then you surpass even the draconian "morality" of Islamic states. Think about that for a second and you may want to revise your ideology. What is more, your attempt to reduce responses to crime as a binary choice of violence or capitulation is immensely short sighted and problematic. I'm sure it was just hyperbole but it is certainly nonsense and unworthy of utterance even as a conceptual position. If you really think years in prison for non-violent criminal activity is "capitulation" then that is truly sad. By your measure the response to all criminal activity is violence so what do you suggest as punishment for drug possession, public nudity, hacking, public intoxication, or solicitation?? Caning perhaps??
EDIT:
Yes, I read your following post. My position stands. I would simply contend that there is little reason to debate our real world position to your philosophical one. Not that there isn't intellectual value to debating the latter but it is not a level sided and useful discussion then. I would however cation you that philosophical systems are not "timeless" in the way you imply. The are informed by the historical context in which they emerge and while some components in the world are timeless, much else is dynamic so new challenges to philosophies can and do render them "dated" and less relevant if not completely inaccurate.